MADD Says Impairment Study Backs Position

Drinkers may feel sober a few hours after consuming alcohol, but new
research finds that their cognitive functioning continues to be
impaired, Health Scout News reported May 14.

In response to the study, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) said
the findings confirm the group's zero-tolerance position on drinking
and driving.

"At MADD, we say don't drink and drive. There is no safe level," said
James Fell, director of traffic safety and enforcement programs for
MADD. "While we believe that 0.08 is the right level for the law,
even at lower blood-alcohol levels, some people are affected.

"Appoint someone as your designated driver," said Fell. "Or, if you
plan to drink, don't drink as much and make sure you wait long enough
that your blood-alcohol content is down to zero."

"People generally feel down or a little depressed as they're sobering
up, but they don't feel drunk," said study author Robert Pihl,
professor of psychology and psychiatry at McGill University in
Montreal, Canada. "Yet cognitive deficits are worse at that time."

According to the study, alcohol continues to impact key cognitive
functions, such as spatial reasoning, planning, and the ability to
control behavior.

The study's findings were the result of research involving 41 male
college students. One group was given enough alcohol to get legally
intoxicated, while the other group was given a mixture of orange
juice and several drops of alcohol.

After giving six cognitive-functioning tests to all of the participants, the
researchers found that the intoxicated volunteers had greater
declines in cognitive functions, in particular spatial functioning,
even many hours after drinking.

Pihl said people who drink heavily should wait at least five hours
before driving.

The study was published in the May issue of the journal Alcoholism:
Clinical and Experimental Research.